What Makes You Different
by suspend your disbelief
Summary: Kenshin's musings on Kaoru. What more can I say!


Whee! Another ficcy! Oh, well, I hope you like it!  
  
I am borrowing a song. "What Makes You Different Makes You Beautiful" By BSB... Don't ask how I came upon that song. it's a long story..  
  
Disclaimer: Neither the characters or the song belong to me. The end. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*  
  
{You don't run with the crowd; you go your own way.} Kenshin was gazing upon Kaoru with a very pathetic look of longing. He wanted her. so much.but he knew he wasn't worthy of her. She was too. everything for him. Too beautiful, too young, too innocent. She went into the training hall to train, and he smiled. She was very different from all of the other girls he knew, or had ever known. She was independent, preferring the kendo life than the high, expensive life. And she hadn't cared that she was one of the only female instructors. She stood up firmly for what she believed in. Her father's technique was one of those things.  
  
{You don't play after dark; you light up my day.} And she was independent enough to make smart decisions. She never put any of her friends, or herself, in danger, unless it was for something important. He remembered the time when she had insisted on betting for Yahiko's welfare. That, he thought, was risky, as they could have easily hurt her. Or could they have? She was a strong swordswoman, and she had an enormous will. She had even gone out after the Hitokiri Battousai, meeting him, the real manslayer, but he had changed, so she wouldn't have known. Instead, she faced a man almost four times her size. And she did it. She went against him. She was so perfect.  
  
{Got your own kind of star that sets you apart.} She was so different. She would never back down from anything. He had to force her to not follow him when he fought. She wasn't afraid. She would do anything for her friends, even if it put her in danger.  
  
{That's why you capture my heart.} He loved her for all of that. Her independence, her beauty, and the fact that she would do anything for her friends. She was perfect.  
  
{I know sometimes you feel, like you don't fit in.} He sighed, knowing she was always teased for her beliefs. People said she should sell the dojo, and move somewhere else. That she wasn't fit to teach. She was a woman, after all. He knew he was also to blame. He knew people talked about her. And himself. Together. Even though it wasn't true, and she would still allow him to take residence in her home for as long as he wanted, he still felt awful.  
  
{And this world doesn't know what you have within.} It was a shame, he noted. She was one of the best kendo artists in the country, and no one would recognize that, just because she wasn't a man. And she had beaten many men before, so that shouldn't have mattered to anyone. But it didn't. People couldn't see past the exterior, and he knew it hurt her. She wanted the dojo to be bustling, and she wanted to pass on her father's techniques. So they could protect themselves. Not to hurt, but to help.  
  
{When I look at you, I see something rare.} And most people would have just quit. Recognized that they failed, and there was nothing they could do about it. But not Kaoru. She knew there was hope. She knew that eventually, there would be a student. And Yahiko came along. She was ecstatic, he knew, even though he called her annoying names, and wasn't the best helper. But he still could tell she was happy, to at least have one student. She would never quit.  
  
{A rose that can grow anywhere.} She was so special. Any man would be lucky to have her as his wife. She would try so hard to make him happy. Because once she cared about someone, she would do anything for them. She would probably do almost anything he asked of her, though she would never sacrifice her independence.  
  
{And there's no one I know that can compare.} She was so wonderful; there could never be another woman like her. There could never be. He just wished she could love him, but he knew it was no use. She would eventually move on, and marry. And that would leave him alone.  
  
{What makes you different makes you beautiful.} What made her different from all of the other women was her charm. That's what attracted him to her. It wasn't really her beauty. She was very beautiful, but that wasn't it. It was her qualities. The fact that she wasn't a geisha like all of the other women and she wasn't obsessed with how she looked all of the time. That she could play with the boys in what was classified as a 'Mans Sport' and win. She was one of the best, whether she wanted to admit it or not.  
  
{What's there inside you shines through to me.} Her personality was the light to his once dark side. She was his remedy. She taught him that there was a way to make up for the sins he committed. That there was a way to live with himself. In her home, he met better friends than he ever had. Her positive attitude touched him to the very depth of his soul.  
  
{In your eyes I see, all the love I'll ever need.} Those big, beautiful eyes. They always reflected happiness. Well, almost always, anyway. He remembered the emotion in her eyes. He wanted to die because he had hurt her. It was so obvious in her eyes. He couldn't bear it. He had hurt the most important person in his life. Yet, he could see that she understood. She knew he had to go to Kyoto and defeat Shishio. But that wasn't an excuse, he thought. He had still hurt her, and he would always hate himself for that.  
  
{What makes you different makes you beautiful to me.} He shook the thought off as he saw her swing the bokken around. She looked wonderful executing attack after attack in what looked to be an effortless fashion. They looked flawless, too. She also appeared to be rather tired. He hoped she wouldn't keep going for much longer; she'd exhaust herself.  
  
{You've got something so real.} And she did. She was genuinely a kind soul. She was just.. Unafraid to help anyone and everyone. She was a real woman. She wasn't one of the many women who were afraid to stick up for what was right, for fear of someone protesting and arguing with them. She always did what was right... always.  
  
{You touched me so deep.} She was the first person.. After Tomoe.. To accept him. Before that everyone just thought he was a mere wanderer with a sword. A reversed edge sword, so he was no threat. And if they didn't see him as that, they saw him as the Battousai, and strayed away from him at all costs. But Kaoru took him in, as the rurouni, and let him stay, even after knowing he was once the legendary Battousai.  
  
{Material things don't matter to me.} And all he had ever wanted was someone to be there. To repent for his sins. He had never really cared about how much money he had or what he owned. Those things just didn't matter in the long run.  
  
{So come as you are, you've got nothing to prove.} Through his eyes, she was already perfect. All he ever wanted, and all he ever needed. She didn't have to be rich, or beautiful. (Though, she was beautiful to him) She was just the one she needed. And he would always love her for that.  
  
{You've won me with all that you do.} He smiled. Everything she did was flawless. Even disobeying his commands was good, he thought. It showed her true character, even if it was a hassle sometimes. She was just. what other word was there? Perfect.  
  
{And I want to take this chance just to say to you :} He watched as she wrapped up her training bout. He just couldn't live with it anymore. He needed to tell her how he saw her. Whether or not she felt the same way.. she still had to know. He placed the wash basin down besides him, then walked hurriedly towards the young woman. He smiled, and stepped in her way.  
  
"Miss Kaoru. May I talk to your for a moment?" He asked, looking at her with soft, amethyst orbs.  
  
"Mou! Of course, Kenshin.. Just let me change." She smiled wryly, trying to step around him, but he blocked her path once more.  
  
"Miss Kaoru... you really don't need to." He replied.  
  
She blushed softly. "Erm.. all right.  
  
He took her hands in his, and her eyes widened to almost half their normal size. "Kenshin?" She asked softly, in amazement.  
  
And at that, he grinned, beginning his explanations.  
  
{What makes you different makes you beautiful.} "Miss Kaoru.. You really are a beautiful person. I mean, you're not only a pretty young woman.. But you have a sparkling personality. I just wanted you to know that.." He was too afraid to tell her anything more.  
  
"Kenshin.. Thank you..' Was all she said, for his words left her speechless.  
  
{What's there inside you shines through to me.} He then, somehow, found the will to continue. "  
  
"You've really helped me a lot, Miss Kaoru. thank you so much. You've shown me that I could repent for all of my sins. That I could live with myself. For all of that I thank you." He said, softly.  
  
He interrupted her before she could say anything.  
  
{In your eyes I see, all the love I'll ever need.} "I. I really care for you.. A lot. Miss Kaoru.." He said simply, as she began to blush the color of Sanosuke's headband. "I see in you.. something I've always wanted." He said, saying far more than he had set out to.  
  
{What makes you different makes you beautiful to me.} "Kenshin." Kaoru began softly. "What you're saying.. Thank you. but you're not talking about me.you see someone else when you see me.." She said, not believing he could care for her as she had always cared for him. "I mean. there are so many other girls.with so much more to offer."  
  
"Kaoru.. " He said, dropping the "Miss". "I love you for more than your looks. I also love you for your personality. You're an individualist. Kaoru.. I just love you for all that you are." He said simply.  
  
{You don't know how you've touched my life.} "You don't know how long I've waited for someone like you.Kenshin." Kaoru said, tears brimming in her eyes.  
  
He saw her tears, and let go of one of her hands to brush them away. "Don't cry, Kaoru." He said softly.  
  
{In so many ways I just can't describe.} "I.. I'm not upset." She replied, gazing into his eyes.  
  
"Kaoru." He interrupted. "You've changed my life in so many ways.. for the better." He said, keeping the gaze steady. "You're so lovely.. so perfect." It was as if his heart spilled before them, telling all of the things he had never dared to say.  
  
{You taught me what love is supposed to be.} Kaoru smiled. "No one is perfect, Kenshin, much less me..but.. you...You have been the only man I've ever loved. My father. he never thought anything like this would happen to me. He always thought I'd be alone, because of my beliefs. I never thought I'd ever fall in love.. until I saw you.  
  
{It's all the little things that make you so beautiful to me.} "Kaoru..all of what your father said was wrong. I fell in love with you because of your charm. Because of your abilities. All of what set you apart." He replied.  
  
He leaned in to kiss her, and their lips met for a moment, then parted. Kaoru was weak in the knees, about to fall over. Kenshin noticed this, and embraced her in a swift movement of arms. He steadied her. And they remained that way, in a comfortable silence, for a few moments.  
  
{What makes you different makes you beautiful. What's there inside you shines through to me. In your eyes I see, all the love I'll ever need. What makes you different makes you beautiful to me.} In our lives, there is at least one person who appreciates the person we are inside. Our mission in life is to find that person, and appreciate the person THEY are. Then we can say our goal in life is complete.  
  
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Ah... I have been attempting to write this fic for a LONG time. Sadly, I don't think my writing did the lyrics justice. Oh well. x.x; If you hate the story, at least credit me for my lyric choice. XD I must admit that song fits them perfectly. of course, my opinion doesn't matter. I wanna know what YOU think. Please read and review!!!  
  
Ja for now.  
  
*~*Kaoru-dono*~* 


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